Hearers of the Word_ Lukes Gospel as Sacramental Formation For
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Hearers
o
the Word :
Luke's Gospel as Sacramental Formation for a Liturgical
Community
Arthur A. Just, Jr.*
*Editor s note: Just s address was based on his two-volume commentary
on
Luke s
gospel. FromLuke I: 1 9:50 Concordia Commentary
by
Arthur A Just , Jr. © 1996
Concordia Publishing House. Used with permission. All rights reserved; and from
Luke 9:51 24:53 Concordia Commentaryby Arthur A Just, Jr.© 1997 Concordia
Publishing House. Used with permission. All rights reserved.
It is privilege to return to the Institute ofLiturgical Studies after a long
absence, especially on a subject that h s consumed me in one
way
or
another over the last fifteen years. I am very grateful to the advisory
council for assigning me a topic that develops the biblical foundations of
the catechumenate. My doctoral work on Emmaus, my vocation as
professor ofexegesis and pastoral theology,
my
participation in the
ELCA
and LCMS working groups on the catechumenate,
s
well as my
participation in the Missouri Synod s efforts to develop its own
catechumenal process, have all contributed to
my
remarks this afternoon.
But it is through conversations with colleagues about the New Testament
as a catechetical document, and particularly my work on Luke s gospel,
that
h s
been seminal to
my
own thinking about the biblical foundations
for the catechumenate.
t seems obvious to say Luke wrote his gospel as Holy Scripture for
a liturgical comnrunity
of
believers. One alternative is he wrote
it
for
pagans as an apologetic for the Christian faith. There are some today who
imagine Luke wrote his gospel for the academy. This perpetuates itself,
as
the
academic guild moves from one creative form of criticism to
another.
Luke s
gospel as the object of academic pursuit does not touch
the lives
of
most pastors and laity.
In today s church there is another problem. There is the idea Luke
wrote his gospel not for liturgical communities but for private Bible study
groups or the personal devotional life of he people ofGod. Who here has
not experienced those Bible studies where a passage of scripture is read,
and then each person takes his or her tum telling the
group
what this
passage means to them? This is its own form of deconstruction of
he
text,
a somewhat unsophisticated form of reader-response criticism, where the
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primary purpose ofScripture is to make meaning for the individual reader
from the peculiar context
of
that reader, so the original audience is
replaced
by
a post-modem reader. For many Christians today, the Bible
is
a private document, standing alone and outside of he church, available
for individuals to approach
by
themselves without an attachment to a
worshiping community of believers.
Such an understanding must be rigorously challenged, not only
by
scholars who have no reason to consider Luke
as
Holy Scripture, but by
the saints who need to reclaim the Bible as sacramental formation for a
liturgical community. There has even been a renewed interest in
considering Luke as Holy Scripture for a believing community within the
scholarly community. In the new series by Eerdmans Darryl Palmer
discusses the genre ofLuke-Acts, whether it is an historical monograph,
a theological history, an apologetic historiography, or a form ofGraeco
Roman biography.• But he also takes seriously another perspective: that
Luke is consciously writing scripture for a worshiping community of
believing Jews and Christians. He cites G.E. Sterling from his book
Historiography
and
Self-Definition. Josephus Luke-ActsandApologetic
Historiography noting that Sterling suggests the author ofLuke-Acts saw
his work as a continuation of he Biblical narrative. He sees Luke's style
of
writing, which is similar to the Greek of the Septuagint, as evidence
Luke believed his narrative constituted the fulfillment
of
Old Testament
promises.
This address could easily become another attempt to clarify the genre
of a gospel such
as
Luke's. But the literature here is vast, and the
conclusion that seems to best fit the analysis
of
the genre of the gospels is
that Luke, along with Matthew, Mark, and John, are their own unique
literary compositions, unparalleled in literature before and after their
advent. They are unique precisely because they are written as Scripture
for liturgical communities. So instead ofplowing that field once again, we
will look at Luke through a liturgical lens; that is, we will consider his
audience as hearers
of
the Word, who listen to the evangelist in the
context
of
the church's weekly Eucharist, and we will take seriously the
idea that Luke writes Scripture for a liturgical community that is preparing
1
Darryl Palmer, Acts and Ancient Historical Monograph, in
The
ookof
Acts
in
Its Ancient Literary Setting
ed. B W Winter and A.D. Clarke (Grand Rapids, MI:
Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1993), 1-2.
id., 16
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people for Baptism and nurturing people
in
their baptismal faith by
preparing them to receive the Lord's Supper.
Luke as Holy Scripture
Luke is writing a gospel for Jewish Christians to use in evangelizing
and catechizing God-fearers and Gentiles. The concept
of
revelatory
instruction as catechesis for pilgrims serves as a helpful formulation for
considering the unity
of
God's work in Jesus' ministry, in Luke's church,
in the early catechetical communities, and in the church's ministry today.
The gospel was used in catechesis, which we may define broadly as the
instruction
of
those who have come to faith and who look forward to
Baptism or who have been baptized already. Catechesis is centered in
Jesus Christ of Nazareth, who was promised in the OT and became
incarnate to accomplish the Father's plan ofsalvation. Jesus continues to
be present spiritually and in his
flesh in
preaching and
in
the
sacraments, where he offers the gifts
of
ife, salvation, and the forgiveness
of
sins.
Luke's gospel is a book of the church, written for the church, to be
used by the church in its proclamation
of
he Gospel to the unbaptized and
the baptized. The community that receives Luke's gospel is a catechetical
and eucharistic body that already n
the first century h d
a method for
making Christians. Thus, the context in which Scripture is received is
liturgical
that is, a church that worships Christ who is present
in
the
reading and preaching
of
the Word and the receiving
of
the Sacraments.
As
Aidan Kavanagh puts it, ''This means that rather than being Scripture's
stepchild, worship
is
Scripture's
home.'' '
Since Scripture's home is the worshiping community, it is likely that
Luke's gospel was first received by a worshiping community. It is
addressed to an individual named Theophilus, who almost certainly was a
member
of
such a community. In our consideration
of
Luke's gospel as
Scripture for a liturgical community, two contexts are to be pictured that
3
Editor' s note: Most of his section is excerpted from Arthur A Just, Luke
1:1-9:50
4-7.
4
Aidan Kavanagh, Scriptural Word and
liturgical
Worship, in Reclaiming the
Bible or the Church ed. Carl E. Braaten and Robert W. Jenson (Grand Rapids,
MI:
Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1995), 131.
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reflect the original first-century audience: I) those who participate in the
events of Jesus' life (the ministry
of
Jesus in A.D. 30), and 2) those who
first receive the gospel s sacramental formation (Luke's church in
A.D.
55-60). The process
of
evangelization that sent the church into the
highways and byways
to
seek the lost (Luke 14) and proclaim the Gospel
ofrelease (Luke 4) had as its goal the enrollment
of
hese newly converted
into this process of initiation that begins with catechesis and climaxes with
Baptism
and
Lord s Supper. The rhythm
of
the early Christian
communities
was
the rhythm of evangelization, catechesis, Baptism, and
Lord s
Supper. This pattern was established
by
the earthly ministry
of
Christ himself,
n
fulfillment
ofthepattern ofthe
Old Testament.
Catechumens
or
Hearers of he Word
5
St. John Chrysostom points out in his Baptismal Homily that
catechumen comes from the Greek for echo because instructions were
to be so internalized that they 'echoed' not only
n
one's mind but in one's
conduct'>(; In its use in the early baptismal and catechetical texts,
catechumens are those who
are
preparing for Baptism,
and
a clear
distinction is made between those who are catechumens and the
baptized. The catechumens would be dismissed after the Liturgy
of
the
Word, while the baptized would remain for the Liturgy
of
the Lord's
Supper. Only the baptized were admitted to the Holy Supper. The Liturgy
of
he Word came to be known as the Liturgy
of
he Catechumens or the
Mass
of
the Catechumens because it was through the
Liturgy
of
the
Word
that the catechumens were instructed in the Christian faith.
In the unique genre
of
the mystagogical catecheses
of
the fourth
century, an explanat ion
of
the mysteries
of
Baptism and Lord's Supper
was saved until after the catechumen was baptized during Easter week.
For eight days, catechists, who came to be known as mystagogues,
explained
to
the newly baptized what happened to them at the font and at
the table. Even though they had been catechized about the doctrine of
Baptism and the Lord' s Supper, they had not yet heard about the
rites
that
accompanied these two great sacramental moments. Pedagogically, the
5
Editor's note: Most
of
his section is excerpted from Arthur
A
Just,
Luke
1:1-9:50, 11-12.
6
T.M. Finn,
Early Christian Baptism and the Catechumenate: West nd East
Syria
(Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1992), 4.
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catechtsts believed that it was more important to first experience Baptism
and Lord's Supper and then have these rites explained to them.
While the Liturgy
of
the Word was called the Liturgy of the
Catechumens, it did not exclude the baptized. The reading and
interpretation of the Scriptures was also intended to prepare the baptized
to receive Christ as he comes to them in his Supper. The baptized as well
s the unbaptized catechumens were nourished and sustained through the
Christ who was revealed in his holy Word. The gospel accompanied the
OT readings in order to instruct as yet unbaptized catechumens in the way
of
the Lord and to prepare the baptized to meet the Lord in the
eschatological feast
of
heaven that was given them in the Liturgy
of
the
Lord's Supper. Those not yet and those already baptized "echo" the
teaching of Jesus in their confession and witness. The baptized are
members
of
a life-long cateclmmenate as they daily die and rise in
Christ.
he wo
Audiences
of
he
ospef
Luke 's gospel as sacramental formation may be illustrated in the two
intended audiences addressed by the evangelist The
first audience
includes the twelve apostles, the seventy( -two), the crowds/people, and the
religious establishment, that is, those people who were actually present for
the historical events described in the gospel. The first audience historically
participates in the very life ofJesus himself, even though during his earthly
life they never fully understand what was happening. The first audience
never fully understands the gospel until the end of he story. They fail to
comprehend that Jesus must go to Jerusalem, give up his life in an atoning
sacrifice to release the world from its bondage, rise on the third day, and
ascend on the fortieth day.
This first audience does not understand God's
plan of alvation in Jesus until after
the
resurrection and Pentecost
The second audience is the community
of
believers who received
Luke's gospel. It is composed of catechumens: both those preparing for
Baptism
and
those already baptized, who continue to
be
catechized and
who commune with Christ in the Eucharist. These are liturgical Christians
who are living in a eucharistic community. The difference between the first
and second audiences is that Luke's eucharistic communityofcatechumens
knows the end
of
he
story they know that Christ has gone to the cross,
risen, ascended, and that after Pentecost he is continually present n the
7
Editor's note: Most
of
this section
is
excerpted from Arthur A Just, Luke
1:1-9:50,
13-20.
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church through his Spirit. Jesus' presence in both his human and divine
natures
is
just as real in his church now s it was in his earthly ministry.
It is a real presence n body as well as in spirit. It comes through the
proclamation of he Word and the administration of he Lord's Supper.
Luke's audience can now hear the historical events
of
Luke's gospel
with ears that hear. Their eyes are opened to see what God has revealed
about his plan ofsalvation in Jesus. Like the Emmaus disciples, their eyes
have een opened through Jesus' teaching on the road and in the breaking
ofthe bre d For Luke's audience, the teaching on the road occurs in the
Liturgy
of
the Word (catechesis), and the breaking
of
the bread occurs
n
the Liturgy
of
the Lord's Supper. It cannot be overemphasized that
those who receive Luke s gospel hear
n
light o the passion and
resurrection facts, Pentecost, and Christ s ongoing presence n the
church.
Luke's gospel, then, is written to be heard, not read, in the church's
liturgy. The evangelist, therefore, uses the literary techniques
of
he day,
based on the principle of balance, to assist the hearer as he listens for
significant themes and mermrizes
them
His gospel shapes life in Christ
by describing that life under the cross in a hostile world that is at odds with
the gospel, a life lived in eschatological tension in the now/not yet. t is
about conversion, a turning from the world to live n a new way. It
therefore speaks of
things related to conversion: repentance and
forgiveness, Baptism, and table fellowship with God. As a liturgical
document, it cannot be understood outside the church's worship life.
Because it is
liturgical, it is also catechetical
n
that it either prepares
hearers of the word for baptism or it nurtures the baptized.
The gospel
is
addressed to specific first-century hearers
n
a specific
cultural, sociological, and political milieu. Most of these hearers are
converts to Christianity who have come from the ranks of God-fearers or
pagan Gentiles who knew not Christ but are now believers from hearing
the Gospel.
While those groups are Luke's hearers, the gospel itself is written to
be read by
Jewish-Christian interpreters
who lead the worship
n
a house
church. They will read the Gospel and interpret it for the God-fearers and
pagan Gentiles. This is the reason the gospels are more reticent than we
might expect, preserving a disciplina arcani, for they are written to be
read in the church by those who are trained to both read and interpret.
The primary Lukan community is different from the communities
addressed by the other gospels. As a catechism for Jewish-Christians to
use in catechizing God-fearers and p g n Gentiles, it presents a new
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narrative
of
the same events recorded in the other gospels, but in a manner
that is accessible to a Gentile catechumenate who needs a more detailed
explanation
of
the
T
background
and
Jewish culture to understand the
fulfillment
of
God s plan
of
salvation
n
Jesus.
The genre of the gospels
s
like Cyril
of
Jerusalem s procatechesis,
which prepared for baptismal and eucharistic initiation. The gospels are
not mystagogical catecheses that unveiled the sacramental mysteries for the
newly baptized only after they had experienced those mysteries. Thus,
since the gospels are part of a disciplina arcani the theological meaning
of
the events is veiled in a literary genre that requires exegesis
by
a
qualified pastor or catechist who has been raised up by the community as
an interpreter
of
the text. One must hear between the lines, so to speak,
by
listening for themes in the gospel that unpack the meaning of the events
of
Jesus life. Meaning is not immediately accessible to the Gentile hearer,
for the gospel must be heard n a community that regularly washes
newcomers at the font, feasts
at
the Table
of
he Lord, and safeguards the
traditions of the church. The sense
of
the text would not be immediately
understood by a neophyte within the catechumenate. He must hear the
gospel with interpretation by authoritative servants who are
n
continuity
with Jesus prophetic ministry and the apostolic ministryof he Twelve and
the seventy( -two).
Luke records the teaching
of
Jesus
in
a literary narrative that has
theological significance, but the meaning needs to be explained and
interpreted. Luke the evangelist guides his hearers through a maze of
themes, allusions, doctrines, and picturesque descriptions that comprise a
mosaic
of
Jesus, thereby creating and sustaining faith in God s plan
of
salvation accomplished
n
Jesus Christ
of
Nazareth. To illustrate
sacramental formation in Luke s Gospel, a few examples might be helpful.
The Benedictus
8
The Benedictus provides Jewish Christians with a resource to
catechize God-fearers or Gentiles, offering Luke s hearers a magnificent
vehicle for rehearsing Israel s covenantal history. Coming at the liturgical
moment
of
John s circumcision, Zechariah s Benedictus connects the OT
promises of God s visitation and redemption with the fulfillment
of
those
promises in the Child for whom John prepares.
The
link between salvation
8
Editor s note: Most of his section is excerpted from Arthur A Just, Luke
1:1-9:50 95-101.
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and forgiveness
is
a critical issue in the preparatory instruction or
catechesis for baptismal initiation.
Central to this hymn is God s remembrance
of
his holy covenant
1
:72b) and
the
oath he swore
to
Abraham
1
:73). Surprisingly,
L a E l ~ K l l
( covenant ) is used in the synoptics only at the institution
of
he
Lord s
Supper
and here in the Benedictus. Remembrance is an important concept
in table fellowship language, both
at
the Last Supper and in the ongoing
Eucharist
of
the church (cf. Lk 22:19,
avaj.lVflOlS ).
The
occasion of John s circumcision and incorporation into the
covenant ofAbraham recalls all
ofOT
covenantal history. God s covenant
with
Abraham
(Gen 12:
1-
3)
...
was sealed with a bloody sacrifice in the
presence
of
God (Gen
15:12-21)
and entered into
by
means of
circumcision
(Gen 17:1-14), which
Luther compares favorably to the
Sacrament ofBaptism.
9
God s salvation is central, and this salvation is
focused in the covenant of
Abraham
that God remembers throughout the
history of Israel.
The
use of covenant o w E l ~ K l l ) suggests· a link between the
Benedictus, the series
of
covenants in the OT, and the Last Supper. The
common theme is sacrifice.
The
covenant with Abraham was a bloody one,
sealed
by
the presence
of
he Lord in the smoking
pot
as it passed through
the two
cut
pieces
of
the animal
(Gen
15:17-21).
At
the Passover,
the
blood of he sacrificial lamb without blemish was applied to the lintel and
doorposts. The covenant promises to Abraham and to Moses are brought
together in Ex
6:2-9
and 12:48-49. This covenant is reaffirmed at the foot
of
Mt. Sinai through another bloody act
of
sacrifice, where the people
promise
to
hear and heed God s covenant (Ex
24:4-8).
10
This covenant
takes on a new dimension with the prophets, particularly with Jeremiah
who elaborates on the new covenant as one offorgiveness (Je r
31 :31-34).
The new covenant comes to its fulfillment
in
Jesus Christ. This is the
prornisethatthe
Benedictus rehearses through God s mighty acts in the
OT
and through John s role as the forerunner of Messiah who will give
knowledge
of
salvation to his people in the forgiveness
of
their sins (Lk
1 77). However,
the
hearer also knows that the covenant in the center
of
the Benedictus comes to its complete fulfillment on the night in which
9
Lectures on Genesis (1538-39), in Luther s Works, ed. Jaroslav Pelikan and
Helmut T. Lehmann, vol. 3 (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House,
1961
),
101-112.
10
See X Loon-Dufour, Sharing the Eucharistic Bread: he Witness
o
he New
Testament, trans.
M.
J. O'Connell (New York: Paulist
Press,
1987), 145.
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Jesus was betrayed and said, This cup [is] the new covenant inmy blood,
which is being poured out on behalfof you (22:20). According to Luke,
then, this new covenant of Jesus' very body and blood subsumes the old
blood covenants that anticipated this fmal covenant. The covenantal
sacrifice God made with Abraham, celebrated in the Passover, poured on
the people by Moses, and foreseen
by
Jeremiah
is
now offered in a cup of
the Lord's blood. All the OT covenants are now superceded by the coming
of
the one for whom John will prepare.
John's mission is to prepare his ways (1 :76; hoq.1acrm vs
auToiJ ). The ''way is catecheticallanguage from the OT. The way was
both a journey in faith and a catechetical lifestyle, i.e., a path to the
Promised Land (on which the Israelites were catechized through the
Word ofGod that came to them through Moses and through suffering) and
a posture of confession in which they should walk. This
journey/catechetical lifestyle motif became formalized in the OT
catechetical concept
of
the two ways : God's way or the people's way.
The Didache, an early Christian writing that is highly Semitic, also begins
with this kind of catecheticallanguage: There are two Ways [oool. v ],
one of Life and one of Death, and there is a great difference between the
two Ways TWV avo oowv Didache 1:1).
11
Blessings
and
Woes: The Sermon o the Plain
12
This catechesis may be illustrated by Jesus' Sermonon the Plain. This
sermon is the most significant summary of
Jesus
catechesis during his
Galilean ministry. It
is
the beginning of Jesus' teaching to his disciples
about what it means to be a catechumen. e intends for them to
use
his
teaching to make further catechumens and disciples. This is also the first
teaching Jesus specifically directs to his disciples. Disciples are learners,
students, or in early Christian parlance, catechumens. Here they are
taught by Jesus in the same way the early church would later teach
catechumens. Throughout the sermon there are references to their status
as either disciples (Lk 6:20) or hearers (6:27)
of
Jesus' teaching.
Jesus will say to those who hear (6:27; TOLS aKovoucrw) a series
of
commands (6:27-38), and the sermon concludes by referring to the
The Apostolic Fathers, vol. 1, trans. K. Lake (Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press, 1977), 309.
12
Editor's note: Most of his section is excerpted from Arthur A Just, Luke
1:1-9:50,283-287.
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catechumen as the one who comes to me and hears my words
[aKouwv
flOU
Twv
A 6ywv] and does them (6:47). Jesus will also contrast himself
as teacher to his disciples or catechumens : A disciple [ f 1 a 0 l T ~ S ] is
not above his teacher
[ ~ > L 8 c i a K a A . o v
]
Everyone who is fully trained will be
as his teacher (6:40).
Luke's gospel continues the OT catechetical tradition
of
he two ways:
the way of life and the way
of
death. The Sermon on the Plain portrays
this classicOT and Christian antinomy between life and death more starkly
than Matthew's Sermon on the Mount. Luke seems to highlight sections
that accent the either/or alternatives
of
catechesis, even following the
beatitudes with Jesus' series ofwoes. The catechumen is to see that life is
filled with these two alternatives and that in himself and his teaching, Jesus
is offering the way of light and life.
Who might Luke's first hearers have in mind when they hear the
beatitudes? Who are blessed because of heir poverty, their hunger, their
crying? Who are blessed for the hate, insults, and exclusion they receive
on account
of
the Son
of
Man? Would these hearers in Luke's day not
recall the martyrs who went before them, the saints who preceded them and
now stand with them in the church? Would they not see themselves? For
when one enters the Christian community by Baptism, these beatitudes
describe the character
of
those who belong to this community.
Luke 's hearers then and now should see beyond themselves to the One
who was poor for them, who hungered in the wilderness for them, who
wept for them as he entered Jerusalem, who received hate, insults, and
exclusion for them, and who was cast out and crucified outside Jerusalem
as evil--the Son of Man. In the beatitudes, the Great Reversal first
announced in the Magnificat is sounded again, but now in the context
of
a ministry of reversal in which Christ shows that all blessedness comes
from his humility in the face ofmounting persecution. The Christological
character of the beatitudes would not be lost on Luke's hearers, who see
themselves only in terms of how they see Jesus, who understand their
baptismal incorporation into his body and into all that he brings. The
catechumen who enters the Christological life through Baptism is
taught about the stage o his life by being told n the gospel how Jesus
lived his life n a hostile world that
put
him
to
death.
Those who join his
community will live this same life in this same
world
This Christo logical
reading applies not only to the beatitudes, but also to the rest
of
the
Sermon on the Plain, beginning with the woes that show life without Christ
(6:24-26), the imperatives of catechesis that point the way to this
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Christologicallife
(6:27-38), and
the goal of catechesis
that
describes the
enlightenment,
the
fruit,
and
the foundation
of
this life
(6:39-49).
Emmaus
13
Luke begins like no other gospel
and
ends like
no
other gospel. It is
framed by the catecheticallanguage adopted by later centuries
to
describe
the process of sacramental formation. The prologue describes the purpose
of his gospel
in
terms
of
catechesis. Luke the catechist does
not
give
an
unbiased, ''neut ral narration,
but
a persuasive, confessional one filled
with Christological meaning. As catechesis
about
Christ,
it
is a
Christology.
This Christological meaning continues in Luke
24 on the road to
Emmaus.
The
journey
is
catechetical.
The Emmaus
disciples
are
transformed from
catechumens
into initiates-believers
with
understanding-through
the teaching ofJesus on the road (literally,
in
the
way [24:32, 35]), where their hearts burn,
and
through the breaking of he
bread, when their eyes
are
opened.
The
round-trip journey recapitulates the
journey
of he entire gospel, which
began
with
doubting
Zechariah in the
temple
1 :5-25) and
ends with
oyfulworshipers in
the temple
(24:52-53).
It is also a precis
of
Jesus' ministry
of
table fellowship
and
catechesis,
beginning with his sermon in Nazareth (4: 16-30) until his Passover
on
the
night
in
which
he was
betrayed (22:14-20).
The catechesis on the
road
also establishes the pattern for Christian
worship. The catechesis is Christology, and its
vehicle-teaching-is the
first element
in the table
fellowship matrix, serving
as
preparationfor the
meal. The
Christological interpretation of the Scriptures
teaches
the
disciples
about
Jesus.
In Christian worship this same teaching will be
accomplished by the Service
of
he Word which precedes the Service
of
the Sacrament.
The core of the catechesis on the road is 24:25-27,
in
which, for the
Emmaus disciples, Jesus exegetes Moses,
the
prophets,
and
all
the
OT
Scriptures.
This first climax
of
he Emmaus story
nd
of he gospel
itself
accomplishes
tw
aims: (1) In 24:26, the kerygma
of
he gospel is forged
into one simple statement: Was
it
not
necessary for the Christ to suffer
these things
and
enter into his glory?
(2) In 24:27, a scriptural
foundation is provided for this kerygma:
And after beginning from
13
Editor's note: Most
of
his section is excerpted from Arthur
A
Just,
Luke
9:51-24:53 994
1001-1020.
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Moses and from all the prophets, he explained to them in all the Scriptures
the things concerning himself. These two features provide for the hearer
of the gospel a precise lens that brings into sharp focus who Jesus is and
what he has done in accomplishing God 's plan
of
salvation.
The catechesis
on
the road serves as preparation for the meal
at
Emmaus It accomplishes its goal: faith in the suffering and rising Christ.
Jesus' rebuke of the disciples reprimands their lack of faith
14
in the true
Christo ogy that includes
~ e c t i o n
suffering, crucifixion, and resurrection.
Their lack
of
faith came from not understanding the prophecies. But now
Jesus the teacher
explains the hermeneutical key that opens the Scriptures
so that the hearts, slow to believe (24:25), become burning (24:32). The
issue of faith or its absence is central to the Lukan themes
of
recognition
versus the failure to recognize, opened or closed eyes, comprehension or
misunderstanding
of
the passion and resurrection facts. The evangelist
moves from physical seeing and hearing to spiritual perception in the heart,
from ignorance and unbelief to faith.
True
remembering
(24:6, 8)
comes
from a Christological understanding
of
Moses and the
prophets a
goal
only the risen Christ can accomplish in the Emmaus disciples.
The personal presence and instruction
of
the risen Lord is the
element that sets this act ofteaching apart from all others. The teaching
of
he risen Christ readies the Emmaus disciples for the meal with the risen
Christ in 24:28-30 by giving them faith to believe all that the prophets had
spoken. Later in Christian worship, the teaching of the proper
understanding
of
Jesus' suffering and
of
he real presence ofhis body and
blood in his Supper will be prerequisite for participating in the Meal in
which the guests receive the forgiveness ofsins for their own resurrection
life.
The primary thrust
of
he Emmaus narrative is table fellowship As in
the earlier Lukan meals
of
Jesus, the
teaching
of
Jesus
and
the meal
of
Jesus must be considered together. The teaching functions aspreparation
for the meal, where reconciliation takes place. The catechesis on the road
by
the risen Lord prepares the Emmaus disciples for the recognition
of
he
reality
of
his resurrection in the breaking
of
he bread.
What is the high point
of
the Emmaus narrative? There are,
in
fact,
two climaxes, the first preparatory for the second. The teaching and the
breaking
of
he bread together form the summit ofLuke s entire gospel
The Emmaus narrative is the first time a disciple of Jesus recognizes
by
faith thatJesus is the suffering andrising Messiah prophesied in the OT
14
As an articular infinitive,
TOV mcrTEUELV,
to believe, explains in what way
they were
av T]TOL Kal ~ p a o L S TU Kap8
Q. foolish and slow in heart.
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The teaching of Jesus in 24:25-27 creates burning hearts as the disciples
yearn for divine revelation that will explain the events that have baffled
them (24:19-24). It is not the teaching, but the breaking ofthe bread in
24:30 that is the moment ofrevelation.
This question must be asked: Why does Jesus choose to reveal himself
in the breaking
of
the bread?
15
To answer that question is to go at the
heart
of
Luke's Gospel as sacramental formation. The order of eaching
then eating sets the
p ttern
for the early Christian meals in Acts. That
order is also reflected in the church s liturgical worship by the Service
of
he Word (teaching) followed by the Service of he Sacrament (meal).
In the Emmaus narrative, the combination
of
hese two
elements-teaching
and eating-is neatly phrased in Luke's concluding verse in 24:35:
And
they were expounding the things in the way [Ta V Tfj oo< )] and how he
was known to them in the breaking
of
the bread [E:v TlJ
KMa L
ToiJ
apTOlJ].
The final section ofLuke's Gospel from the Emmaus narrative to the
ascension scene is the evangelist's post-resurrection teaching about the
sacred mystery of the crucified and risen Christ 's presence in his church.
It
provided the early church with a fitting example ofwhat
may
have led
to
the practice of mystagogical catechesis.
6
This was the predominant
method
of
catechesis in the early church through the fourth century. In
mystagogical catechesis, some teaching about the Sacraments occurred
before catechumens were baptized and communed for the first time during
the Easter Vigil, but the mystery of Christ's presence and the full
theological meaning of he Sacraments were expounded afterward during
the week following Easter. The sacramental mysteries were unveiled for
the newly baptized only after they had experienced those mysteries. In a
similar way, as the Emmaus disciples converse with Jesus along the road,
they are only partially aware
of
the significance
of
the teaching they
receive. They remain unaware of the reality of Jesus ' presence with them
up until that point in the meal when they recognize Jesus in the breaking
of
the bread. Only after they experience the revelations of Jesus in his
15
Th is question is also posed by Richard J. Dillon,
From Eye-Witnesses to
Ministers of
he Word: Tradition and Composition in Luke 24, Analecta Biblica 82
(Rome: Biblical Institute, 1978), 105.
16
See the section Church ofHippolytus A.D. 215) and Today's Church in the
introduction to Luke 1:1-9:50. See also H.M. Riley, Christian Initiation: A
Comparative Study of he Interpretation of he Baptismal Liturgy in the Mystagogical
Writing ofCyril ofJerusalem, John Chrysostom, Theodore
o f
Mopsuestia, and
Ambrose ofMilan (Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 1974).
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intetpretation ofthe OT Scriptures and in his breaking of he bread do the
disciples fmally understand the mystery ofhis resurrection and his abiding
presence with them.
The revelation
of
Jesus as the risen Christ, who lives forevermore,
gives table fellowship an added eschatological dimension. The new era of
salvation that has begun will never end, and the resurrection life revealed
at Emmaus will continue at the eternal banquet in the presence
of
Jesus,
whose glory will then be fully revealed. Table fellowship
of teaching and
breaking bread becomes the occasion for the presence ofthe eschatological
kingdom because it is a celebration
of
he new covenant that is founded on
Christ's death and resurrection.
Yet these events are not for the two Emmaus disciples exclusively;
they are for the benefit
of
the entire church. Those two disciples are
part
of the continuum of all who have received revelations from
God
Those
two disciples are representatives
of
all Jesus' catechumens, and they are
members
of
he one holy catholic church, extending from OT times to the
parousia. Thus they are part of the eschatological community of
saints-the true catechumenate. God's people waited millennia for this
moment of revelation, and for two millennia since the Emmaus events the
church has remembered this climactic moment in God's plan of salvation
in eucharistic fellowship.
The prologue and the Emmaus story frame Luke's gospel. Faith rests
upon
certainty
about the
catechetical
tradition of the church, and that
catechesis is now being passed on through Luke as sacred Scripture (Lk
1 4). The full catechesis of he church includes the things
24:35)-the
facts-about Jesus' passion and resurrection, as well as the
knowledge
(1:4; 24:31, 35)
of
the presence of the crucified and risen one in the
breaking of the bread. The journey of Jesus, from heaven to earth (the
infancy narrative), to Jerusalem, and back to heaven (24:51 ), will now set
in motion the journey
of
the Christian church. Acts will document how the
disciples are now empowered to go out into the world, armed with the
word and the bread
...
the means to mission.
7
Perhaps the most surprising feature
of
the Emmaus narrative is that
Jesus, the moment he is recognized, disappears from sight. Why? With the
crucifixion and resurrection, the table fellowship of Jesus has been
transformed. He no longer reclines at table as he did during his earthly
ministry, for he is now present with the church in a new way. The presence
17
G.R. Osborne, The Resurrection Narratives: A Redactional Study (Grand
Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 984), 24; See also Dillon, From Eye- Witnesses
107, 113, 153,212,216-217, and especially 227-296.
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and disappearance of Jesus at the Emmaus meal helps prepare the church
to understand that Jesus will be present yet unseen at the church s
eucharistic meals. Emmaus
is
the transitional meal between the pre-
resurrection meals of Jesus earthly ministry, including the Last Supper,
where he physically and visibly ate with his disciples, and the church s
continuing celebrations of the Lord s Supper, where Jesus is present in
flesh and blood, yet unseen. The church, like the Emmaus disciples, is to
recognize, with the opened eyes of faith, that Jesus is truly present in the
breaking ofthe bread (cf. Acts 2:42, 46; 20:7).
The stranger who walked with the Emmaus disciples on the road, who
became their guest and then their host
at
the meal,
is
a stranger no more.
Every time the church follows his institution and gathers to celebrate the
new testament in his blood, he is present as the unseen host, feeding his
church with his body, which h gave into death on the cross, and with his
blood, shed for the forgiveness
of
sins. The old covenant meals have
passed away. The eschatological meal-the Lord s
Supper-will be
the
feast of the church until that day when Jesus again eats with his disciples
at the marriage feast of the Lamb in his kingdom, which has no end
8
In the meantime, the church rejoices in the presence of Jesus
eschatological kingdom through the teaching ofhis words and the breaking
of the bread.
utheran Worship (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1982), 144.
187